International incidents

I'm not sure why I feel as strongly as I do about this case half a world away where a woman who was clearly framed by drug smugglers at Sydney airport was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment after the judges refused to hear the evidence that this was a frame-up. But after reading the CNN report and seeing the coverage of the case on ITV, I can see people are extremely angry and it's clear that enormous pressure will be brought to bear on the Howard government to denounce Indonesia for this travesty of justice. Of course, cooler heads will eventually prevail.

Last night, I saw some more coverage of the inquiry into the case of Maher Arar, who was intercepted on a flight layover in New York en route from Tunis to his home in Ottawa, and deported to his native Syria on trumped-up charges with the knowledge he would be tortured there. This time, it is my own government who initially perpetrated this travesty of justice, and I'm just as angry hearing of this.

I suppose I have never believed that the world is fundamentally unfair, which seems to be a common belief around the world. News of injustice like this frustrates me, and frustration turns all too often to impotent rage.